“Be More Chill,” is Broadway Bound

On Sept. 5, Be More Chill, the sci-fi high school musical, announced a Broadway run. Previews begin on Feb. 13, 2019 at the Lyceum Theater on West 45th Street in New York. Be More Chill is a Joe Iconis musical based on the novel by Ned Vizzini. It tells the story of an average high school student, Jeremy, played by Dear Evan Hansen’s Will Roland, and his struggle with popularity. The character is presented with the opportunity to take a pill that will teach him how to be popular to impress the girl he likes.

Be More Chill premiered at Two River Theater in Red Bank, New Jersey back in May 2015. The run at Two River lasted two months and was never picked up. The show closed, but lived on through the cast’s soundtrack. In a matter of two years, the original Two River production cast recording started picking up speed, accumulating over 150 million streams on Spotify.

According to Forbes magazine, “The moribund musical was being discovered, and becoming a viral sensation on social media.” Due to this growing fan base, the show was given a limited engagement Off-Broadway run from July 26 through Sept. 30 at the Signature Theater on West 42nd Street in NY. The run was only supposed to go until the Sept. 23 but it was extended to Sept.30.

Fans are ecstatic that Be More Chill has its own Broadway run. Julianna August, a high school senior, says, “I’m very excited for Be More Chill’s move to Broadway because I’ve loved this show since its original run in 2015 and I also have a special fondness for the novel the musical was based on.”